Botanical classification/cultivar designation: Dahlia hybrida cultivar Karma Bon Bini.
The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Dahlia plant, botanically known as Dahlia hybrida and hereinafter referred to by the name xe2x80x98Karma Bon Binixe2x80x99.
The new Dahlia is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Lisse, The Netherlands. The objective of the breeding program is to create new cut flower Dahlia cultivars with straight strong flowering stems, decorative inflorescence form, attractive ray floret colors, and good inflorescence longevity.
The new Dahlia originated from a cross-pollination made by the Inventor in 1996 of the Dahlia hybrida cultivar Bridgeview Aloha, not patented, as the female or seed parent with an unidentified selection of Dahlia hybrida, not patented, as the male or pollen parent. The new Dahlia was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination grown in a controlled environment in Lisse, The Netherlands, in the summer of 1997. The selection of this plant was based on its strong straight stems and attractive ray floret coloration.
Asexual reproduction of the new Dahlia by cuttings was first conducted in a controlled environment in Lisse, The Netherlands in the Spring of 1998. Asexual reproduction by cuttings has shown that the unique features of this new Dahlia are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
The cultivar Karma Bon Bini has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, daylength and light intensity without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Karma Bon Binixe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Karma Bon Binixe2x80x99 as a new and distinct Dahlia cultivar:
1. Straight and strong flowering stems.
2. Freely basal branching growth habit.
3. Cactus-type inflorescence form.
4. Yellow and red bi-colored ray florets.
5. Excellent garden performance.
6. Excellent inflorescence longevity.
Plants of the new Dahlia are most similar to plants of the female parent, the cultivar Bridgeview Aloha. However, in side-by-side comparisons conducted in Lisse, The Netherlands, plants of the new Dahlia differed from plants of the cultivar Bridgeview Aloha in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Dahlia were shorter than plants of the cultivar Bridgeview Aloha.
2. Plants of the new Dahlia had stronger flowering stems than plants of the cultivar Bridgeview Aloha.
3. Plants of the new Dahlia had cactus-type inflorescences whereas plants of the cultivar Bridgeview Aloha had decorative-type inflorescences.
4. Ray floret coloration of plants of the new Dahlia was stronger and resisted fading better than plants of the cultivar Bridgeview Aloha.
Plants of the new Dahlia differ primarily from plants of the male parent, an unidentified selection, in ray floret coloration.